How to Destroy Strongholds [Part 2]

Pastor, author and Bible teacher Alan Wright you got and the more you look around and hide your flaws and somebody. Next, you seem to have more than you and they seem to be more loving than you then start comparing yourself and say why can I have more a matter like having more like that person and then you find yourself while struggling with so many self-defeating mentalities. Write it down of myself and I'm jealous of others is hiding behind the strong excited for you to hear the teaching today. In the series victorious living is presented, rebuild the church in North Carolina. If you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program I want to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now. It's a book written by pastor out and called God moments it can be yours for your donation this month to Alan Wright Ministries as you listen to today's message go deeper as we send you today's special offer. Contact us@pastor.org that's pastor out.O RG or call 877-544-4860 that's 877-544-4860. More on this later in the program but right now let's get started with today's teaching here.

You have him you have everything you need and don't let anybody tell you otherwise.

No message may Paul said. So I begin to speak about strongholds and he speaks here of three stages of military engagement in the ancient world.

The destruction of the fortification. The taking of captives and the punishing of the resistance. So the first stage of any successful campaign was you got to get that stronghold down. You gotta find a way to tear down the fortress so that you could even get to the enemy.

This fortified dwelling place of the enemy must be pulled down in the Scriptures. The idea of a fortress or a stronghold is not just used in the negative sense of where the enemy might hi but really is pictured as a gift from God. For those who understand the gospel in lives and the truth of God's amazing grace to Psalm 18 to the Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock and whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold is the real image God wants to be our stronghold. Not for us to have ungodly strongholds, wherein the enemy works according second Corinthians. What Paul is saying here is a stronghold is every argument or speculation or thought. That's a lofty, prideful, and sets itself up against the knowledge of God. What is he mean by that he means it strongholds our thoughts and systems of thought that are contrary to the good news of what God is done for us in Jesus Christ.

Stronghold is a system of thoughts that sets itself up against the true gospel. That's what it is. It's not any more complicated than that.

Francis frangipane in his book, three battlegrounds speaks of how our thoughts can become like a house of thoughts and that's really what a stronghold is you have a foundational thought and then you build another thought on that and then another thought on that. Another thought on as will see today. The key therefore to understand what's at the foundation of your thought life the foundational beliefs because upon them. We build one belief after another, like a house stone upon stone and what happens is so many of the thoughts that we have. We don't even know why we had a lot of things we believe we really know why we believe him.

Frangipane says quote. Indeed, many of our opinions about life are ours only because we know of no other way to think yet. We defend and protect her ideas, justifying our opinions as though they were born in the wound of our own creativity is so true. There's so many things are just getting handed down to us.

You know those family mottos that you just kind of accept them and take him and you think will that's what the truth really has my granddaddy well love so much and he ran retail stores is always saving I get anything done right you do-it-yourself lot live by that motto for a long time in my life in France. I said that's not true that's just a formula for not being a good leader.

You gotta delegate something let some other people do something you do anything) do-it-yourself member that I love him but he was wrong about that you have family mottos.

It is handed down to you the systems of belief things that come into your way of thinking because you had a sinful reaction to the difficulties of life.

The wounds that we experience often become the breeding ground of our thoughts. You go through something difficult and you form a belief about the world you form a judgment about other people.

You form all kinds of speculations that are contrary to the gospel and when these get built one on top and another.

This is what a stronghold is an God does not want you to build your identity, your destiny and your character up on anything less that what he has to say about you, what he has to say about the good news for your life. What he has to say about your destiny. I think this is why the Bible is so against astrology. God hates astrology multiple warnings about having nothing to do with astrology and horoscopes people get up and read in the paper in Aquarius and therefore my that is what my days go look like this is well I'm just Sagittarius so that's why I'm this kind of person God hates that kind of thing will fly because not because this stupid, but because that it is because he does outline some joker with a horoscope prediction telling you what your destiny is all we have all kinds of things try to inform us of who we are and what our purpose is that if you stop and analyze it. There's no substance behind it whatsoever. God said all that kind of thinking. Gotta be broken down so you can get built up in the truth of the gospel stronghold is a house of thoughts and what he says as we take every thought captive to Christ we not down the stronghold in the spirit and then our thought life but things that we believe about ourselves we believe about this world and we believe about the future. We believe about our destiny. These things get shaped by the power of the gospel.

We tear down the wall in our files therefore can be taken captive under Christ.

If you have certain negative thinking patterns in your life you keep seem to get rid of your mind's hooked on that broken tape recorder of the what-ifs that you always playing with worry for the kind of jealous thoughts and always fill you with envy.

Whatever it might be. Chances are that there's a stronghold needs to calm down so that vendor laws can be taken captive under Christ will have more teaching moment from today's important series facing a problem when well-meaning Christian friends said something like what the problem was such an expectation.

Of course, is that telling someone that they actually help the person have more faith once more faith can we do to get more faith in his highly acclaimed book, God mimics Pastor Alan Wright describes when the most important biblical pathways to building your faith, remembering God's presence in your life.

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I just thought I was so tired of being negative in my thought life as a kid I was you caning believe I'm so positive now. It makes people sick sometime that's apposite but I used to be a negative thinker and I remember as I hate this.

I don't want to have my mind go to negative thoughts. I still sometimes will get that way my wife gets only because little vacation. I'll say we have vacation, what's the weather gotta be a look at all know is I don't write every day. Is it when you quit looking at that and I'll start worry about the weather every day. Don't look at what you know is just a fragment of an old nature that would just kinda be bent towards looking towards a negative not tried so hard to manage my thought life. I couldn't do it. You behavioral modification has a place but is so superficial and what it can actually accomplish something else needed to happen. It was a stronghold of my life.

People often say what about our feelings are they reliable, yet they are reliable.

They are reliable indicators of what you are thinking. If you have fear is a reliable indicator that you think there's danger in hand. Our feelings come from our thoughts and our thoughts grow from our beliefs. So instead of trying to manage her feelings or even manage your mind, change your beliefs and get them lined up with the gospel. That's where the battle is one of had a paradigm shift. There had a moment were disco aha oh wow I see like a man who was on airplane and he had a backpack down on the scene from an and midway through the flight. He reached down to give him a pack of cookies that he had bought at the snack shop in the airport, a sleeve of usual cookies you thought you'd enjoy a resounding problem down there in the seats in front of me pulled up the cookies and the 81 in the passenger next to him smiled at him and then the man ate a second and the passenger next to him, then reached over and did some unimaginable took one of cookies and ate it.

The man couldn't believe the slick Rick 781 market is. Oh well, so man ate another cookie, and then the passenger next to him. A few moments later, reached over, took a second cookie. It couldn't believe it.

Is this guy doing and for the whole flight. He started started fuming on the inside. Thanks, Kimberly was meant not even asking. He's reached over and grabbing my cookies stew in the whole flight and at the end of the flight cookies are all gone. Man reached out to get his backpack as he pulled up his own backpack. There was his back of cookies and he realize he accidentally grabbed the other man's cookies with the same and actually he'd been eating his cookies the whole time paradigm shift.

I thought it was this, but I was quite mistaken. It's actually this. That's what happens when a stronghold gets torn down.

The truth set you free.

Therefore, the answer is to understand the stronghold and let the gospel be applied to it and watch it come tumbling down quickly on the show you one example of a stronghold that was in my own life and were to build some boxes appear like a wall like a strong form to show you how I house of thoughts can be built and so it started with this and this is actually a truth and that is that I am flawed and it is true of all of us that were flawed down the right note. It starts with this and is true we are all born in sin.

Every one of us fall short of the glory of God.

Everybody in here willing to talk about it. We know flow, but because of that, I tended to have this thought that because I'm flow I must be last loved nobody ever told me that no one ever said oh Alan, you need to you to get your act together or you're not to be loved and accepted. It's not that anybody ever told me that they nobody maybe was just from the brokenness of my life in the home. Maybe it was moments of rejection that I experienced. Who knows how you start interpreting the world and a wrong way, but I started having this thought. I didn't know it is a problem you don't know you're getting this on thought well if you want to be loved and accepted in this world you need to really measure up. It's built on the assumption that because I'm flawed unless loved, and the less flawed I would be the more loved. I would be so true wife to believe that that because you are flawed. That your lesson and then of course you want to just close up after I started doing.

I remember I can remember my mother rejoicing. I had a girlfriend in high school and she was like only one on when dad left home the second time in their problems.

In my household. All this choose only one I told for a long time. I did tell her I'm your mom mom just rejoicing so good on you need to talk to somebody and talk to anybody like Adam and Eve in the garden soon as sin came in. Shane came in and I started trying to cover themselves as her trying to hide from God are trying to hide from each other is such a trick of hell. Because guess what the devil works in the darkness cannot tell you I just cannot tell you how much healing I have seen in the lives of people, wonderful people who just finally get the grace the courage and grace is a spell.

Tell somebody about a problem or struggle to close up is built upon a lot unless loved because I'm flawed and if you believe that then you would want tell anybody about your flaws because you think they love you less and if you got close. Along with it. I had this idea that I had always therefore while I'm covering up my weaknesses. Try to be more and more what is it that you would approve all try to be more of that. What is it that would make you love me more. I'll try to be that and so the cycle begins, and if you were to carry that to his conclusion of trying to please people, so they would live here for me what this man was in the end that might as well just try to be perfect because where you going to stop hanging on to stop the always got to be more than you might will be perfect and that's what stronghold looks like this with is one of them in my life probably could sit down and draw up a thousand of these is the point of it behind stronghold fortification gets built in your thought life. So many temptations so much demonic oppression so much darkness wants to hide their they waited hide behind a wall like this in the covetousness, jealousy, and hide behind this wall, you gotta be more and you look around you and hide your flaws and somebody makes you seem to have more than you may seem to be more loving than you then start comparing yourself and say why can I have more of an ally can be more like that person and then you find yourself while always struggling with so many self-defeating mentalities. Write it down of myself and I'm jealous of others is hiding behind the stronghold. I think Shane's at the root of addiction, the feeling of having always be better and better and yet you don't know how to be better and you know you can't is such an anxious feeling the thought of people not loving you accept and use so anxious to do you live with a gnawing angst in the soul and is such an awful feeling you most anything to cover up that feeling.

And so it is substances in relationships and behaviors become addictive hides behind this kind of wall and despair can be behind is what if you try, try, and you realize I'll never be able to be good enough at some point despair says you might as well give up what I'm saying is that for a lot of my life. I tried to manage it okay should be a perfectionist.

Oh yeah okay I need to just take joy in what I have and you can knock down the first few wall but your foundation still there is we are praying about this after preaching yesterday. One of our ministry team got this image of a wooden shack like you to see in the countryside, dilapidated wart boards. What she saw in the spirit was the shack fell down and there was the stone foundation, and another shot got built and fell down the server things get not down but the foundation hasn't changed but the foundations gotta change because away stronghold comes down is not by attacking it up here right here at the first lie because Shane says because your last because your flawed your last loved but guess what the gospel says your flawed but you are so loved God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, Christ died for the ungodly. While they were still in their sin. God knows every flaw that you have and he still came for you. He knows everything wrong in your life and he loves you enough to die for you. He knows everything and he poured out his life for you. You are so you're not last loved. You are so laughed so when that thought comes in and you pull out the stones.

Here, what happens to the rest of the wall.

I like doing this right here. Watch out below because instead of the last love you so love you got those out and feels good. Every time I do the wall comes down near what happens in all those enemy thoughts all the attempters snared all of its just laid bare and exposed and you're just like an mixing you know that in the light spiritual battle is at hand and you are victorious in Christ.

That's what happened. That's how that's how simple it happens. Stronghold to make you feel like you keep stepping in the same old hole in the sidewalk, but when it comes down you say aha and you take a whole different street gospel in today's teaching how to destroy stronghold from our series on second Corinthians all about victorious living in Allen Wright is back here in the studio with additional insight on this for your life and today's final word in every moment nearly escaped from danger and having them you were surprised by blessing every moment Jeff knew the direction to take you to find moments of God's grace.

Perhaps they been covered by the sands of time just gone unnoticed in the rush of life. Your life is full of God moments when you make a gift will send you a special bundle pastor. I went hearts during birth God moments feeding them containing all his idea messages on the subject. They can't get to start your spiritual treasure hunt I'm covering you a how you remember yesterday will determine how you live tomorrow gospel is shared when you get to Allen Wright ministries this broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support. When you get today. We will send you a special offer. We are happy to send this to you as I thanks from Allen Wright ministries, seven 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website pastor out and got work in your experience of ministry do you find those that there's a difference between those who've tasted freedom and then have a stronghold in import. They want to get back to that freedom versus those who maybe have never really experience freedom.

It's a totally different because well I think I certainly had in my life I stronghold when I feel stronghold of shame years ago in which I did. Problem is I didn't realize it was there yeah and so then you struggle awaiting that. Why do I have certain issues in my life.

It continued that I've not done more victory over and that's when I start learn about stronghold. It's a system of thought is like a house of thought. It is like brick upon brick but is thought upon thought is what has to be torn down the foundation.

That's why this most special product we actually including a short little pamphlet in which I'm articulating not only these dynamics but showing the graphic of at least one example of a stronghold that came down to my life and how gospel stronghold was built up in its place and this is something honestly Daniel is one of those things I want to say to all listeners.

It's not that difficult and it's not often the distance is more about learning the principle of this discovering some of the foundational deceptions that have shaped a lot of our thinking when you pull out the stones at the bottom of the wall. The rest of the wall comes falling down. If you only caught part of today's teaching. Not only can you listen again online but also get a daily email devotional that matches today's teaching delivered right to your email inbox free. Find out more about these and other resources@pastor.org that's pastor out.org. Today's good news message is a listener supported production Allen Wright ministries